Before and After
by Raloire
Summary: A series of drabbles with endless potential for pairings and AUs. Latest Drabble - Crying
1. Nice

**Nice**

Now Mukuro knows despair is coming, watching her classmate's joyful faces is stranger. It's the calm before the storm and they're unaware and unable to savour it. But admittedly, she's glad that for now Naegi and the others still smile at her, even though the end of the world is drawing closer, it's nice.


	2. Under the Rain

**Under the rain**

Kirigiri-San and him stand underneath a tree to avoid the tempestuous weather for a while.

The two of them stand close together to make sure that not so much as their sleeves get drenched and Naegi feels his face flush red when he realises that the two of them are holding hands.

Kirigiri-San may be the Super High School Level Detective but right now she seems too busy going through ideas of back ideas of the quickest, driest routes back inside, so she doesn't seem to notice his blushing and for that he is very grateful.


	3. Fairy Tale

**Fairy tale**

Once upon a time there was kingdom, called Hope's Peak, hidden away behind iron gates that only the very best could past through however some people paid vast amounts of gold in hopes of the very land itself to better them.

Amongst them were two very special youths.

One was a young boy who'd paid to past through the gate, his sheer ambition and desire for talent lead the King to decide that he would be the one to bear the title of Hope. He was placed through many trials until eventually the boy was changed for the worst, for the price of his talents he lost all of his own ambitions and desires.

The second, the most vital piece to our story, was a young girl. No one can quite recall who she was or what she was like.

Some say she was a passionate woman with hair like gold, who took the world by storm with her extravagant tastes that caused the gates to swing open to her. Others claim that she was an amnesic young woman with hair red like flames and intelligence that could assist her in the direst situations, they she once held a notebook that may contain the truth, her mind made the gates swing open to her. Few believe that she is both of these girls, they are each other but are not each other. That they were not the same but they did indeed once share a life.

The importance of her story is that she was not what she seemed at all, but actually a dragon called Despair.

Despair's whispers spread and spread and caused more despair, it spread through those who'd paid the gates like the plague and brought the monsters from the depths of their hearts to surface. They viscously slaughtered each other, like predators, like bears, like wolfs.

Until eventually even 'Hope' heard Despair's whispers and he too was tainted. The monster in him allowed the rest of the world to peak in through the Kingdom's iron gates and once they saw the greatest in such a horrifying state the despair sowed seeds in their hearts and spread across the globe.

Finally the King was slain by Despair and the Kingdom was hers and as her first act as queen she saw it fit for the remaining citizens of Hope's Peak that had not given into despair to be executed in front of the entire world.

There were little over a dozen left and only a few heroes emerged from Despair's cruel game.

But that, unfortunately, is another story.


	4. Deja Vu

**Déjà vu**

Naegi gets a strange feeling of déjà vu when he's standing under a tree to avoid the rain with Mukuro-San.

The Super High School Level Solider had been paired up with him in one of their latest classes and the two of them were supposed to work on it after school for homework.

But instead here the two are hiding from the stormy weather and her face is red, as if she were blushing.

He decides not to stare or comment on it as it's probably just the cold, instead he makes some suggestion on how they could try running back inside.


	5. Sing

**Sing**

When the two of them sing, Leon feels like he can truly step out of the shadow his talent casts.


	6. Comedian

**Comedian**

There was something wonderfully hilarious about the SHL Comedian being one of the first to fall to despair during the academy's massacre.

Junko had never laughed harder because of them.


	7. Cough

**Cough**

* * *

_Ishimaru and Oowada!Masterminds AU_

* * *

Naegi gave an awkward cough as he cleared his throat to speak to the red eyed boy whose demeanour had taken an intimidating turn.

Ishimaru wore a shark-like grin as he waited for his response and Naegi felt as if he should be shaking but somehow his confession was balancing out any fear within him.

"Um, so, what you're saying is that both you and Oowada-San are the masterminds and th-that you want me to work for you so that you can take full control?"

This was all some terrible joke, in just a few moments everyone was going to walk in and laugh at him for believing it for even a moment.

There's just no way.

"Exactly! Now we're going to have to form a contract as proof of our agreement." He paused, before taking out a knife.

"Woah, wait a moment! I don't understand why are you two the masterminds? Why are you doing this? Why do you want me to frame Oowada-San?"

The boy continued to grin and raised the knife as he explained, "Kyoudai and I have very different goals, but our means are the same. Despair creates chaos and Despair creates control. Despair is everything, but to have what I want I need him dead and to be controlled by my own despair."

Naegi coughed again, the fear was catching up to him and it was almost like his throat kept closing up, making it harder to breath.

"Why do you want me to frame Oowada-San, I still don't understand."

"The way you handled the first case was impressive, you proved your innocence and caught the killer quickly!" his grin widened, maybe this wasn't Ishimaru at all, could this be some imposter? "and because you're my favourite. I'm expecting you to win Naegi-Kun"

"Even if you don't comply, I can just kill you and frame Kyoudai for it, but you're going to aren't you? After all you don't want to disappoint your family and me."

Naegi definitely felt sick now, once this is all over he's going straight back to bed.

"What kind of contract?" and just like that Ishimaru's demeanour went back to normal as he beamed at him.

"I knew you'd see it my way!"


	8. Sacrifice

**Sacrifice**

Junko felt a gut-twisting horror within herself as Matsuda gave his final breath.

She couldn't really understand why though, he'd tried to kill her first and he was the necessary sacrifice for Despair to consume the world.

And, oh, wasn't this despair just the best?


	9. Forgotten

**Forgotten**

It was strange, realising that because of their memory-loss they were essentially all that was left of the world.

Did they fall to despair last time and if the mastermind manipulated their memories once, what's to say this won't be forgotten too?


	10. Soul

**Soul**

* * *

_Extension of Cough_

* * *

Despite his best efforts to avoid the masterminds for as long as possible, Oowada approaches him shortly after his deal with Ishimaru and demands to make a contract with him as well.

Naegi has to choose who to frame, which one of them is the _'lesser evil', _chaos or control.

He knows that he's doing this for his family, it's not really betrayal to the group when it's one of the masterminds' lives at stake is it?

He feels like he's sold his soul. Twice.

* * *

_I couldn't help it, zonbikid (tumblr)'s au has really been playing in my mind lately, the designs are so cool!_


	11. Tap

**Tap**

Ishimaru stood there for what felt like an eternity and more. Doing nothing but cry and stare at _his _Kyoudai's death place, his execution's stage.

And that was all that existed to him until one of his classmates hesitantly tapped his shoulder.


	12. Crying

**Cry**

* * *

_Extension of Soul_

* * *

Monobear announces that he'll reveal the 'three traitors' unless there is another murder, he also mentions that one of the traitors is already dead.

It sends them all into a panic, apparently none of them had considered a traitor in their midst; well Kirigiri and Togami had of course but that was to be expected.

Kirigiri starts trying to deduce the dead traitor. "Kuwuta Leon, Maizano Sayaka, Fujisaki Chihiro, Hagukure Yasuhiro and Yamada Hifumi," she pauses and her eyes seem to scan the room, "I doubt they would've felt the need to kill and the mastermind wouldn't have a reason to kill them off. That only leaves us with Hagukure-San."

Naegi feels like objecting, because surely he'd never do that, but he doesn't because maybe Hagukure was in a similar situation as him, maybe it was because he died that Ishimaru wanted to make a deal in the first place.

They all return to their rooms early that night and he can barely sleep; he spends too much time tossing and turning in his bed wondering whether or not _they _expected him to kill someone tonight and pick a side.

He doesn't want to at all.

* * *

In the morning he's made up his mind and stands up at the table while they're eating breakfast and doesn't dare look at anyone in the eyes.

"They, they'll kill my family is I don't." He announces despite the fact he feels like crying.

There's an awful, horrific silence, so he continues, "It's nothing that will hurt any of you, I promise. It's not even been since the very beginning, it's been maybe a week actually. They're sort of against each other now and they want me to assist one of them so that person 'can take full control of despair'."

He's shaking and his eyes feel watery, will his family suffer for this? Will they hate him?

"I know who they are but I, but I can't…" his voice breaks and oh god he really is crying now.

He can't look up, he can't look at any of them right now.

He's doing the right thing, isn't he?

Maybe he'll be able to face them after he's stopped sobbing and shaking.


End file.
